Nebula Nine (What If? Collaboration)
by niraD
Summary: A sci-fi AU, originally part of the "What If? Collaboration" organized by Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps. By Grabthar's hammer, Judy and Nick boldly go to infinity and beyond, in a galaxy far, far away.
1. Whenever you're ready, Carrots

**Author's Notes:** I wrote this story as part of the "What If? Collaboration" organized by Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps. If you haven't read it yet, the basic concept is an anthology of short stories (a few chapters each), most of which feature AU versions of Judy and Nick via the magic of a virtual-reality system (the "PIXAR machine"). There are more notes at the end of this chapter as well.

* * *

Once again in Fitwick's Arcade, Nick sat on the padded seat with the PIXAR helmet resting in his lap. He slowly drummed his fingers on the helmet-first his left paw, then his right, then his left, then his right. Next to him, Judy stared at the display, slowly scrolling through the menu of options.

He sighed loudly and continued drumming his fingers on the helmet.

He rolled his eyes and sighed again. "Whenever you're ready, Carrots."

"Don't rush me, Nick. It's been a while. They've added a lot of new programs since-Oh, _Nebula Nine_! Nick, we've gotta do that one!"

He stared at her blankly. After a few seconds, he finally spoke. "You're joking, right? That show was horrible. It lasted... what, ten episodes before it was cancelled?"

"Twelve, actually. I thought you'd be a fan. You do like sci-fi, right?"

"Good sci-fi, sure. _Star Boars_ , _Cattlestar_ , that Hoss Whinnidon show. But _Nebula Nine_? It was lame even back then, just phony melodrama and wooden acting."

Judy huffed. "Nick, it wasn't that bad."

"Really?" The fox raised his right paw, placed his left paw on his chest, and then spoke slowly and dramatically. "'Fear, treachery, bloodlust. The forces of death and destruction have-'" He lowered his paw. His gaze softened as he continued gently. "That inspired your Carrot Days stage play when you were a kit, didn't it?"

Judy slowly exhaled. "Maybe?" She looked away and continued, "Okay, so it might have been a stupid show. I mean, a pawful of cadets on a training mission, and suddenly, they're all alone, seventy light years from home? I don't blame you for hating it."

"But you're going to choose it anyway, right?"

The bunny smiled sadly. "Nick, I loved Lieutenant Chloe. My whole family, my friends, everyone I knew was telling me I could never be a cop, but she was a bunny, and a security officer on a starship, and a real bad aaa-and a real tough fighter. And she didn't let anyone tell her she couldn't do something just because she was a bunny. I saw her and I knew… I knew I could be anything. I could be a cop."

Nick raised his eyebrows. "I bet your legs will look great in that uniform, too."

"Nick!"

"C'mon, Carrots. You sold me. Let's get on with it. To infinity and beyond!"

"Seriously, Nick? You can quote Captain Max's 'fear, treachery, bloodlust' speech, but then you quote Buck Lightdeer as if he has anything to do with _Nebula Nine_?"

"Please, Carrots? Just push the button already."

* * *

The airlock door opened with a hiss. A black ewe wearing an immaculate cadet uniform quickly stepped through. Several other mammals in cadet uniforms followed her. Each set a standard Space Fleet duffle bag on the floor, then stood at attention.

Two officers, a gray bunny and a red fox, stood before them. "At ease," the bunny said. The cadets complied.

"Welcome aboard the ZSS _Wilbur_ ," the bunny continued. "I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Hopps, and this is Lieutenant Junior Grade Wilde. You'll find your assigned quarters down the corridor to your left. You'll have about an hour to settle in before your tour of the ship. Any questions?"

After a moment, the fox spoke. "If there are no questions, then we'll see you again at fourteen-hundred hours. Dismissed."

The cadets picked up their duffle bags and started down the corridor. The black ewe and the gray bunny exchanged knowing smiles, then the ewe caught up with the other cadets.

The pair of officers watched the cadets depart. The fox spoke quietly. "A friend of yours?"

"That's Sharla. We grew up together in Bunnyburrow. She always wanted to be an astronaut, which is what inspired me to apply to Space Fleet."

Nick smiled. "Interesting. You never mentioned that before. Anyway, you do realize that you don't have to say 'junior grade' all the time, right? Most mammals just say 'lieutenant'."

"Yeah, I guess so. It's still kinda new. And I don't want the cadets to think I'm a full lieutenant. After all, we were just like them a year ago."

"Speak for yourself, Carrots. I was never that green."

"Yeah, yeah. Does Mr. 'I left a lucrative career to join Space Fleet' want me to remind him about the time-"

"No," Nick cut in. "No, he does not."

Judy smiled up at Nick. "I didn't think so. Anyway, here comes another batch."

The airlock door opened with a hiss. Several Space Fleet cadets stepped through, set down their duffle bags, and stood at attention.

"At ease," Judy said.

* * *

"That concludes your tour of the ZSS _Wilbur_ ," Judy announced. "Does anyone have any questions?" She smiled at the cadets, who seemed impossibly young. Were they really only a year younger than her?

Sharla asked, "Is this ship named after Wilbur Arable, the pig who invented the airplane with his brother Orville?"

"Yes," Nick replied. "Yes, it is."

One of the two young beavers raised his paw. "What's it like being the first fox in Space Fleet?"

Nick paused a moment before replying. "Have I ever had a better job than serving in Space Fleet? No, no I have not."

"Ooh ooh!" A female fawn waved her hoof in the air. "Can we play now?"

The jaguar cub next to her didn't wait for an answer. He simply jumped into the air and floated weightlessly to the ceiling, then pushed off and floated down the corridor.

"Hey, wait for me!" a cougar cub shouted. A moment later, he was floating down the corridor after his friend.

"Yeah!" The black ewe lamb followed close behind, twirling as she floated weightlessly. "Wheeeeee!"

Soon the corridor was full of young mammals in cadet uniforms, floating, bouncing off the walls and ceiling, and laughing joyfully. Judy watched a fox kit with bright green eyes smile at her as he floated past. "Nick?"

 _EEEEE! EEEEE! EEEEE!_

Suddenly, the other mammals vanished, and Judy was alone, floating in the empty corridor.

 _EEEEE! EEEEE! EEEEE!_

Judy's arm flailed about in a futile attempt to silence her alarm clock. The rest of her body rotated slowly in the opposite direction.

 _EEEEE! EEEEE! EEEEE!_

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** When I saw the "What If? Collaboration", my first thought was that "Zootopia That Was" (my _Firefly_ - _Zootopia_ crossover story) could be an AU within the collaboration. Later, I decided that it would work better to base my "What If?" contribution on the _Castle_ episode "The Final Frontier", where we learned that Beckett loved the short-lived sci-fi series _Nebula Nine_. This is the result. I hope you enjoy it.

Many thanks to Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps for allowing me to participate in the "What If? Collaboration", and for editing this story.


	2. Lieutenant Hopps, please respond

_EEEEE! EEEEE! EEEEE!_

Judy's eyes shot open. The room was dark, and strangely unfamiliar. Her alarm clock seemed impossibly far away. A red light below the door cast a strange flashing glow. Her bed seemed to be floating above her.

 _EEEEE! EEEEE! EEEEE!_

She blinked her eyes and shook her head.

"Lieutenant Hopps, please respond."

"Lieutenant Hopps here." Her paw had reflexively tapped her chest. She felt only the soft cotton of her pajamas rather than the cold, hard shape of her electronic comm badge.

 _EEEEE! EEEEE! EEP!_

Silence. Darkness. And then a roar as the bed suddenly rushed towards her.

She bounced backwards as the bed slammed into her, then she bounced off the floor. Or was it the ceiling? Something... she bounced off something. And then something else, and something else. She grabbed onto... a desk lamp, it was a desk lamp. But moments later it came loose in her paws. She hit another surface, and then another, and another.

Finally, she was able to grab onto something solid-a hook, the coat hook by the door. She held on. She could feel the room's rotation as she maintained her grip.

She assessed her situation. She was wearing her pajamas. She had been asleep. The ship had been on red alert. The artificial gravity was offline. Something had happened and she had been thrown around-no, the room, the ship had been thrown around, with her inside it. Now she was in complete silence and complete darkness. No, not complete silence. She heard soft creaking sounds, and a voice-or perhaps voices-in the distance.

An emergency light came on, emitting a faint blue glow. She got her bearings and pushed off, drifting gently towards her bed. She grabbed it tightly, then pulled herself towards her closet. She quickly found a fresh uniform and pulled it on. She pushed off and floated back towards the door.

As the distance between her and the door diminished, she realized her mistake. Sure enough, there was no "whoosh" of the door automatically opening. There was only a dull thud as her soft padless paws and feet landed on the unmoving door.

A few twists and jumps later, she managed to land on the door's manual release. She flipped up the cover and pulled the lever. The door opened, and she sailed through in a smooth, graceful motion.

"Oof!"

Nick groaned as the gray bunny collided with him. He grasped her small body like a drowning mammal, desperate to hold onto anything that floats. They tumbled together, bounced off the ceiling, and hit the emergency bulkhead that now blocked the corridor.

"Sorry, Nick, you okay?"

"Yeah, Carrots, I'm okay. Did you sleep in your uniform?"

"Huh? No, I just changed." She noticed that he was still wearing his pajamas. "Do you know what happened?"

Nick looked around, worriedly. "Not exactly. But things look bad. Actually, they're worse than that. Bad would be a welcome improvement."

Judy nodded. "Then they need all paws on deck. How do we get this bulkhead open so we can report for duty?"

"The emergency bulkhead that's keeping us from being blown into space?" Nick said stoically. "We don't."

The bunny's big violet eyes blinked slowly. "Wait… What?"

The fox sighed heavily. "Based on what I have seen, the ship is in pieces. This is one of the pieces. The holes in this piece are being plugged by emergency bulkheads: that one, and that one, and those over there, and, well, all of them. It looks like about a dozen, which is really, really bad."

"So… so… so, what about everyone else?"

"Look out the window, Carrots." She pushed off and floated in the direction he pointed, then stared out the window. There was no ship. There was only debris floating in space, like a jigsaw puzzle that had been carelessly thrown on the floor.

"Nick, what do we do?"

After a pause that seemed to last forever, he finally spoke. "I don't think there's anything we can do, Judy. We're stuck in here. If anyone else survived, they're stuck where they are. Unless… well, maybe… maybe someone can get to a shuttle and rescue the rest of us. Maybe."

They both stared out the window, silently watching the remains of the ZSS _Wilbur_.

* * *

"Took you long enough, Slick," the bunny said with a grin.

"I'm not used to getting dressed in zero-G, Carrots. And my stuff was floating all around my room, so first-"

"Wait… Nick, what's that?" His eyes followed the direction her finger was pointing. Sure enough, something was slowly moving towards them.

"It looks like some kind of shuttle," the fox said. "No, it's the captain's yacht. Look, it's bigger than a regular shuttle, and the configuration's different. It's definitely the captain's yacht. But look at it. It's drifting. No one is flying it. I don't think they're here to rescue us, Carrots." They stared at the approaching vessel for a few more moments before the bunny spoke.

"Then we'll just have to rescue them."

Nick grinned. "Sure, you take the helm and I'll run down to engineering and fire up the engines. When we get close enough, I'll use a tractor beam to bring them into the shuttle bay."

"That's the spirit!" Judy shouted. "I mean, we'll need to figure out some other way to do it, using stuff we actually have, but at least you're thinking about possibilities.

"Okay, you want to talk possibilities, let's talk possibilities. We can't fly this… this hunk of deck G. We don't have vacc suits, so we can't go on a space walk. Even if we did, we don't have an airlock. And, let's see-"

"Are you sure, Slick?" She had a grin on her face, a grin that made him nervous.

"Am I sure what, Carrots?"

"Are you sure we don't have an airlock? What about the one above my quarters?"

He looked at her for a moment, then smiled. "The maintenance airlock on deck F. How did you know about that? I thought only geeks in Engineering or Ops memorized deck plans."

Judy wiggled her ears. "It's above my quarters. Last night, when I was trying to go to sleep, I heard someone opening and closing the airlock over and over."

"Huh… so many questions, so little time. But back to the subject at hand, we don't have access to a lift, so we'll have to use a Geoffrey tube. C'mon, Carrots."

Nick floated down the corridor, followed by Judy. He reached an access hatch and shook his head. "Nope. That one's depressurized. Let's keep going."

They continued down the corridor to another access hatch. "Nope, not this one either."

Arriving at another hatch, Nick exclaimed, "Yes! Third time's the charm."

He opened the hatch, moved to the side, and waved his paw towards the open hatch. He graciously said, "Lieutenant Hopps." Judy floated through the open hatch and up the Geoffrey tube, followed by Nick.

They reached the hatch at deck F, and Judy paused. "Nick, can I ask a stupid question."

"Can I stop you?"

"Yeah, probably not. You know Geoffrey, the engineer these maintenance tubes are named after?"

"Only by name. What about him?"

"He's a Giraffe, right? They're tall enough that they wouldn't really be able to use a Geoffrey tube, right? So why would he invent them?"

"Yeah, that's interesting. And if we didn't have a yacht to catch, I'm sure we could figure it out." He opened the hatch and gestured towards it. "But we gotta go, Carrots. Now."

* * *

"Where are the rest of the vacc suits, Nick? There should be a lot more of them here."

"Good question," the fox said, as he helped the bunny into a vacc suit. "Maybe the mammals who were going in and out of the airlock last night can answer it. But the important thing, is that there's one here that fits one of us. And that's you, so you get to go get the yacht and bring it back here for me. You can fly a ship, can't you?"

"Of course I can. I think. I mean, it's been a while, but I think I remember how."

The fox looked out the portal. The drifting vessel was almost to them. "Good. That's reassuring. I'm totally reassured. One hundred percent. So, time to put on the helmet and get out there."

He helped her secure her helmet, then gave her a big forced smile and two thumbs up. Then he slipped out of the airlock and started closing the inner door.

Moments later, Judy was cranking open the outer door.

* * *

Judy stared through the visor of her helmet, watching the drifting vessel grow closer. The only sound was that of her own breathing, slow and steady.

She touched the hull with her paws first, then her feet. She engaged the magnetic boots of her vacc suit, then quickly walked across the vessel's hull to its airlock. She opened the hatch for the manual controls and started cranking open the outer door.

The handle didn't move.

Judy pushed harder.

It still didn't move.

She braced herself and pushed as hard as she could. Her heavy breathing echoed in the suit's helmet, and she could hear her racing pulse echoing in her ears.

It still didn't move.

She tried to steady her trembling hands, tried to remain calm, tried to think. What could she have done wrong? The airlock was the same as the one she had just operated. Why wasn't it opening? What was wrong?

She screamed incoherently and pounded the airlock door with her fists, just before the world went black.


	3. Hey, Judy, you okay?

"Hey, Judy, you okay?"

The voice seemed far away and distant.

"You okay, Judy?"

The gray bunny opened her eyes. She stared blankly at the vulpine face in front of her.

"Judy? Hey, Judy, can y' hear me?"

"Yeah, Nick, I'm okay. What happened?"

"Uh, you sure you're okay, Judy?"

She shook her head and looked up at the concerned fox again. "Gideon? Gideon Grey? When did you join Space Fleet?"

"Well, actually, I ain't rightly in Space Fleet. I'm what they call a civil, uh, contract something. Captain Bogo wanted me as his chef, an' so they hired me. But I ain't allowed to tell folks that I'm in Space Fleet. 'Cause I'm, ya' know, a chef, not an astronaut or nothin'."

"Wow. You're a chef? That's pretty cool, Gideon!"

"Uh, yeah, an' Judy, now that you ain't a goner, I gotta say, I'm real sorry for the way I behaved in my youth. I… I… I had a lot of self-doubt and it manifested itself in… in the form of unchecked rage and aggression. I was a major jerk."

"Hey, we were kids, and… and… Thank you, Gideon. I accept your apology. And I'm sorry for the way I treated you. But… what happened? How did I get here? The last I remembered, I was…"

"You was outside the ship, tryin' to get in I reckon. An' it looked like you was in trouble, so I opened the doors, except first I had to close the other doors… Y'all make this stuff pretty complicated, y'know? Anyhow, I got it all figured out, an' got you inside with this remote control thingy, an' closed the door. An' you looked lots better as soon as I got yer helmet off, an' after a bit you woke up, an' here we are."

"Thank you, Gideon. I think you saved my life."

"Aw... yer welcome, Judy."

She stood and walked slowly towards the cockpit. "So, let's go save some more lives," she said. "We need to rescue Nick, and anyone else who may have survived."

* * *

As the airlock door opened, Nick's voice rang out, "Permission to come aboard, Carrots?"

"Aw, shucks," came Gideon's response. "You don't need no permission. Welcome aboard the _Nebula_. We're, uh…"

The two foxes stared at each other. Then Gideon continued, "Did you just call her Carrots?"

From the cockpit, Judy shouted, "It's okay, Gid. It's just a nickname. You should hear what I call him."

Then she entered the cabin and continued, "Anyway, Nick, this is Gideon. Gideon grew up with Sharla and me back in Bunnyburrow, and now he's Captain Bogo's chef. Gideon, this is Nick. We went through the academy together, and now he's in Operations. And I'm in Security. And Nick, I could really use your help on sensors, to figure out where any other survivors are."

As Nick followed Judy into the cockpit, he said "Hey, Gideon, great to meet you, but right now, duty calls, so we'll have to catch up later, okay?"

* * *

The airlock door opened, revealing a canine with bright coppery red fur. Gideon greeted her cheerfully.

"Welcome aboard the _Nebula_. We, uh... I guess, uh... I'm Gideon. Judy an' Nick are in the cockpit over there."

"I'm Stephanie. Thanks for rescuing me. Do you know what happened?"

"Uh, no. Maybe Judy an' Nick do. Um, Stephanie, what are you?"

"I'm a medic. And a cadet, of course. How about you?"

"Um, no, uh... I'm a chef, Captain Bogo's chef. But I meant, what kinda mammal are you? You look like a fox, 'cept you ain't."

"Oh." Stephanie's smile faded. "I'm a jackal. The fur color is just dye."

"Oh. So, um, how come you wanna look like a fox?"

Nick called out from the cockpit entrance. "Welcome aboard, Stephanie. I spotted another survivor, so you two should grab a seat. And Gideon?"

"Yeah, Nick."

"You know how some mammals treat us foxes? Well, they treat jackals worse." He turned to Stephanie and said, "Am I right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, pretty much. It's easier when mammals just assume I'm a vixen." Then she smiled. "Plus I like the color red."

Nick nodded. "Well, have a seat. And maybe see if you can find any medical supplies, in case the someone we rescue needs your services."

* * *

The airlock door opened, revealing a black ewe. Gideon announced, "Welcome aboard the _Nebula_. Judy an' Nick are... uh... Sharla?"

The two mammals stared at each other. Stephanie asked, "Do you two know each other?"

"We grew up in the same town," Sharla said. "Wow. Lots of foxes in Space Fleet."

"Actually, I'm a jackal, not a fox," Stephanie said.

Gideon gulped. "Well, an' I ain't rightly in Space Fleet. An', well, I wasn't expectin'... But, um, like I told Judy, um... I gotta say... Um, Sharla, I'm real sorry for the way I behaved in my youth. I had a lot of self-doubt and it… an' it manifested itself in the form of unchecked rage and aggression. I was a real jerk. To you, an' to Judy, an' to lots of others. An' I'm sorry. Real sorry."

"Wow," the ewe said, her eyes wide. "I did not see that coming."

No one spoke for several seconds, then Judy chimed in from the cockpit entrance. "I hate to interrupt, but Sharla, you're a pilot, right?"

"Um, yeah, I'm a pilot."

"Great!" Judy smiled. "I really need you to fly this shuttle."

"Yacht," Sharla said.

A puzzled look appeared on Judy's face. "Um, what?"

"Sorry, I just meant, this isn't a shuttle. This is the captain's yacht."

"Got it," Judy said. "Nick said something about that, too."

"And yes, I'll fly it. Let's go." Sharla paused a moment before following Judy into the cockpit. "Gideon? Thank you. I appreciate what you said. I really do. And Gideon? I'm... I'm sorry for the things I did to you back then. Anyway, gotta go..."

* * *

"Hey, Carrots," Nick called, without looking up from the sensor panel, "I found more survivors. Ready to go?"

"Hey, Slick. You remember Sharla?"

"The black ewe from your hometown?"

"Yep," Judy said. "We just rescued her, and she's taking over flying this thing."

"Great. Um..."

Just then, Sharla entered the cockpit. Judy said, "And Sharla, you remember Nick?"

The black ewe waved. "Hi, Nick. Um..." Then she saluted and said, "I mean Lieutenant... um... Wilde?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Wilde," he said. "But please, just call me Nick. And have a seat. I found more survivors, but they're on the far side of the debris field. Here is the bearing."

"Thanks." Sharla cocked her head sideways. "Judy, is there a reason the impulse drive is offline?"

Judy's nose twitched. "What do you mean, offline?"

"I mean, it's off. It isn't running. It's offline. It looks like you've been using just thrusters, and they're pretty depleted without the impulse drive keeping them charged."

"Oops." Judy smiled awkwardly.

"So," Nick said, grinning, "are all bunnies bad pilots, or just you?"

Judy scowled at him. "Har, har. I never said I was a pilot."

"No, it's not a big deal," Sharla said. "I've got the impulse drive online, and we're on our way."

"Perfect," Nick said. "Meanwhile, I'll run another scan of the debris field."

A few minutes later, Sharla announced, "We're here. Where are they?"

"Already?" Nick asked. He flipped a few switches, and then pointed. "That piece right there. They should be behind the airlock in the middle."

"Acknowledged. Initiating docking sequence." As Sharla maneuvered the ship, Nick closed his eyes and lowered his muzzle.

Judy stood beside him and whispered, "It's not your fault."

"No, I'm pretty sure you're the one who was flying around without the impulse drive." He retorted.

"That's not what I meant. Nick, how many times did you scan the debris field?"

"I don't know."

"Nick, how many times? How many times did you scan the debris field for survivors?"

"Judy, I honestly don't know. I... I lost count. I can't find any more signs of life. These are the last survivors."

"Nick, we did everything we could."

"Judy, there were more than a hundred mammals on board the _Wilbur_. We didn't even save a dozen."

"We rescued all the survivors. We did everything we could. Don't beat yourself up."

Sharla chimed in. "I hate to interrupt, but we're docked, and we technically haven't rescued these last survivors yet. C'mon. Let's go welcome them to the _Nebula_."


	4. I'll go first

"I'll go first," the gray bunny said. "I'm Judy. I introduced myself to some of you as Lieutenant Hopps earlier. I'm a security officer." She turned to face the red fox on her left.

"I'm Nick. Or Lieutenant Wilde. I'm an operations officer." He turned to face the black ewe to his left.

"I'm Sharla. Like most of you, I'm a cadet. And I'm a pilot." She turned to face the coppery red canine to her left.

"I'm Stephanie. I'm a medic. We're actually pretty well-stocked with medical supplies, so let me know of any injuries."

"You're not a fox," the lean cheetah across the cabin from her said.

"No. No, she isn't," Nick said. "She just likes the color red. Gideon, I think you're next."

The portly fox took a breath before speaking. "So, like y'all heard, I'm Gideon. An' I ain't a cadet or nothin'. I'm just a chef. But we got a lot of food, 'cause I was restocking the captain's pantry when, ya know, the bad stuff happened. An' I know Judy an' Sharla from when I was a kit. That's all." He turned to the beaver to his left.

"So, I'm Howie, and I'm an engineer, and..." He looked around the cabin. "Is this really it? Are we all that's left, just the nine of us out of the dozens that were on the _Wilbur_?"

Nick spoke softly. "I think so. I've scanned the debris field repeatedly, and I haven't found any other signs of life."

Sharla chimed in, "And Howie, we need you to take a look at the quantum drive. The impulse drive came online just fine, but the quantum drive didn't respond at all."

"Got it," the beaver said. "As soon as we're done here, I'll take a look at it." He looked at the goat-like mammal to his left.

"Hi. I'm Raj, which is short for Rajesh, but you can call me Raj."

"And he's a tahr," the cheetah chimed in. "They're native to a subcontinent in the other hemisphere from Zootopia, which is why you probably haven't seen many mammals like him."

"Anyway, yes, I'm a tahr," he continued. "And I work in astrometrics and navigation. So I guess, Raj is my name, and stars are my game. And the game we were playing probably had nothing to do with what happened to the ship."

"Will you please let it go?" Howie whined.

The cheetah nodded. "Howie's right. It is scientifically impossible for our roleplaying game to have had any effect on the ship's operations, or on whatever disaster befell the _Wilbur_."

Judy spoke up. "I know I'm going to regret this, but what kind of roleplaying game was this?"

The beaver sighed. "It was just a normal roleplaying game. I was the gamemaster, and they were playing characters who were crewmembers on a starship. They were on an away mission exploring a new planet when their ship exploded. And then the real ship exploded. But it wasn't my fault."

"If I may interrupt," Sharla said, "Raj, can you take a look at the nav system? It's on, but it isn't responding. It just says it's initializing forever."

"Um, sure. I'll look at the nav system as soon as we're done here." Then he looked at the cheetah to his left, who was lean even for a cheetah.

"I suppose it's my turn now," the cheetah said. "My name is Shelly, and I am a science officer cadet. So if any of you have any doubts about our little roleplaying game having any effect on the fate of the _Wilbur_ , then I can assure you that such a thing would be scientifically impossible." Then he turned to the bobcat to his left.

"Hi, I'm Leo. And before Shelly says anything, no, I am not a lion. Obviously, I am a bobcat. My mother just named me Leo because she knew that someday I would be his roommate, and because she hates me. And I'm also a science officer cadet." He turned to the bunny to his left.

Judy looked around the group. "Thank you. I know this has been difficult, but we've still got a lot of work to do. Howie, Raj, you know what you need to do. For everyone else-"

"Excuse me," Shelly said. "If I may ask, which of you two is the captain?"

Judy looked at Nick, then replied, "We're both lieutenants junior grade. Neither one of us is a captain."

"I beg to differ," Shelly said. "According to General Order A-113, when an auxiliary vessel is separated from its mothership-as I'm sure we can all agree is now the case with the _Nebula_ and the _Wilbur_ -the senior officer receives a temporary field promotion to the rank of captain. So which of you two is the captain?"

"Not it!" Nick interjected.

"Seriously, Nick? 'Not it'?" Judy scolded. "What are we? Schoolkits on the playground?

"Look, Carrots," Nick said, "I just think that you should be the captain. I'm more useful in ops, maybe as your first officer. Besides, you graduated before I did, so technically, you're the senior officer."

"Only because Hopps comes before Wilde alphabetically," Judy responded. "I'm not going to use that to take this away from you."

The fox raised his eyebrows. "Rock-paper-scissors?" Judy rolled her eyes, but then shrugged and held out her paw. Nick held out his own paw, then the two chanted in unison:

"Rock, paper, scissors…" Both made the gesture for paper. "Rock, paper, scissors…" Both chose rock. "Rock, paper, scissors…" Rock again. "Rock, paper, scissors…" Scissors this time.

"Excuse me," Shelly said. "Lieutenants, permission to make a suggestion?"

In unison, Judy and Nick answered, "Permission granted."

"Very well then. So the two of you obviously know each other rather well, and anecdotal evidence suggests that in the game of rock-paper-scissors, players familiar with each other will tie more than 80% of the time due to the limited number of outcomes. I suggest rock-paper-scissors-lizard-flock. With more outcomes, there is less chance of a tie."

"What?" Sharla asked.

"I saw it on an old sitcom. It's simple, really." The cheetah held out his paws and started making the appropriate gestures. "Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock trips flock, flock tramples lizard, lizard… lizard does something to scissors, scissors shears flock, flock eats paper, paper chokes lizard, lizard climbs rock, and as it always has, rock crushes scissors."

Nick cocked an ear towards the cheetah. "Could you repeat that?"

"Certainly. Scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock, rock trips flock, flock tramples lizard, lizard uh… beats scissors somehow, scissors shears flock, flock chews paper, paper chokes lizard, lizard climbs rock, and as it always has, rock crushes scissors."

Nick smiled charmingly. "One more time?"

"Cut it out, Slick," Judy said.

"Or," Sharla chimed in, "instead of trying to remember all that, they could just play odds-or-evens. One of you picks odds, and the other picks evens. On the count of three, each of you holds out either one finger or two fingers. If the total number of fingers is odd, then the one who picked odds wins. If the total number of fingers is even, then the one who picked evens wins. There are no ties, and even mammals with hooves can play."

"I'm odds, you're evens?" the bunny asked, holding out her paw again.

"Sure. On three."

Together they chanted, "One, two, three…"

"Three fingers," Nick said. "That's odd, so you're it."

"Seriously, Nick? I'm 'it'?"

"Hey, Carrots, I already said you should be the captain. And now, I've been vindicated by the game of odds-or-evens."

The bunny captain rolled her violet eyes at the grinning fox.

"Decapitates!" Shelly shouted. "Scissors decapitates lizard. Oh, wait, that can't be it. For the game to work, lizard has to beat scissors, not the other way around. Um, never mind."

* * *

The bobcat cadet looked up from the sensor display and looked at the other two mammals in the cockpit. "Well, Lieutenant Wilde was right about one thing. There aren't any more survivors out there."

The newly promoted bunny captain nodded. "I'm sure he'll appreciate your checking."

"But he's wrong about something else," Leo added. "That debris out there isn't the _Wilbur_. At least, not all of it anyway.

"What do you mean?" Judy asked.

"After checking for survivors," he said, "I ran a few more scans. There isn't enough debris out there to be the _Wilbur_. I don't know where the rest of it is, but what's here is less than ten percent of the ship. And I could only find a couple... a couple casualties? Literally, there are only two... casualties out there. I have no idea where the rest of the crew is."

"I suppose that's more or less good news then," she said. "Raj, what's going on with the nav system?"

The tahr started to speak, "Well..."

The beaver poked his head into the cockpit. "Lieutenant? I mean Captain? Captain Hopps?"

"Hi, Howie," the bunny replied. "What's up?"

"The quantum drive is back online."

"Really? Wow, great job!"

"Actually," Howie said, "I can't take much credit. It was offline because the strontium cube had suffered a stress fracture. But there was a brand new strontium cube just sitting there next to the quantum drive, waiting for me to install it. So we're good to go. The quantum drive is back online."

"Great!" Judy said. "So, Raj, back to you. What's wrong with the nav system?"

"Nothing," the tahr said. "And that's the problem."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "Sharla said it wouldn't initialize."

"Actually," Raj said. "It was initializing. It was just taking a really long time, because all the references had moved."

"But... But..." Leo said, "the references are stars, aren't they?"

"Exactly. And technically, they didn't move. Technically, we moved. We moved a really long way. And that caused the nav system to take a lot longer to initialize. But it finally finished, and now I know where we are."

"This sounds like bad news," Judy said.

"Let's just say, we're a really, really long way from home. Seventy light-years."

The four mammals were silent for several seconds, then Judy sighed. "Okay, I need that in captain dummy talk, guys."

Raj shrugged. "Well, if we could run the quantum drive at maximum speed the whole way, we could be home in a few weeks."

"You said 'if'," Judy said.

"Yeah, here's the thing," Howie said. "Quantum drives don't work that way. The heavy-duty quantum drives on the _Wilbur_ were designed for a ten-percent duty cycle. We could run them at full power for a couple hours a day. Or more accurately, we could run them at full power for about half an hour, maybe four or five times a day. The quantum drive on this yacht is designed for much less than that. We might get several minutes of full power, maybe four or five times a day. The trip home isn't a few weeks. It's gonna be months. Maybe years."

Captain Hopps looked from one cadet to another, taking in their somber expressions. Then she headed towards the cabin. "C'mon," she said. "Let's go tell the others. We need to get ready. We've got a long journey ahead of us."

* * *

Nick sat up on the padded bench. He smiled at Judy as she removed her PIXAR helmet. "So, Carrots, was it as good as you remembered?"

"Absolutely. But you were in the Captain Max role. I was in the Lieutenant Chloe role. Why did you insist that I become the captain instead of you?"

Nick smiled at her. "Carrots, do you really have to ask?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** In the _Castle_ episode "The Final Frontier", we don't really learn much about what the short-lived sci-fi series _Nebula Nine_ is like. The episode as a whole is an homage to various sci-fi shows, so I pulled bits and pieces from several of them to create my _Nebula Nine_ : _Star Trek_ , _Firefly_ , _Galaxy Quest_ , _The Orville_ , and others. And of course, the gang from _The Big Bang Theory_ are big sci-fi fans, so I based some of the surviving characters on them too. Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear what you thought of this installment.


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